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Medical Marijuana Regulations win Governor Jerry Brown’s signature

Submitted by Sophia Turner on Sat, 10/10/2015 - 11:03

Gov. Jerry Brown’s office said on Friday that a trio of bills,focused at bringing order and oversight to California’s medical marijuana industry approximately 20 years after the state led the nation in legalizing pot for medical use,have won Brown’s signature.

The first licensing and operating rules in the state for pot growers, manufacturers of cannabis-infused products and retail weed stores has come as a number of groups will try to qualify voter initiatives next year that would permit adults to use marijuana recreationally.

Even prior to Brown’s approval of the package of new rules, initiative sponsors had began rewriting their proposed measures to incorporate many of its elements, hoping not to alienate the governor ahead of 2016’s election.

On Friday, Assemblyman Ron Bonta, D-Oakland, the lead author of one of the bills, said, “My hope is this will be viewed as starting point, solid foundation on which to build from. Whatever happens with recreational use, proper regulation is needed. This is very strong contribution from Legislature about what those regulations should look like.”

The decision taken by lawmakers on the Democratic governor’s endorsement of the 70-page Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act in the closing hours of the legislative session was predictable as his office crafted many of the exhaustive details.

In a signing statement, Brown said that the new structure will ensure that patients have access to medical marijuana, while making sure that there is a robust tracking system. He added that this has sent a clear signal to federal counterparts that California is not only implementing the robust controls on paper, but practically also.

“This new structure will make sure patients have access to medical marijuana, while ensuring a robust tracking system,” Brown said in a signing statement. “This sends a clear signal to our federal counterparts that California is implementing robust controls not only on paper, but in practice.”